FOR the past two years Football League clubs such as Tranmere Rovers have been exempt from a transfer window system.

FOR the past two years Football League clubs such as Tranmere Rovers have been exempt from a transfer window system.

FIFA has allowed the three leagues (ie the old divisions) to continue doing business between themselves for 10 months of the year while the Premiership clubs must restrict their transfer activity to the summer and a few weeks in January.

But FIFA plans to end The Football League's exemption at the end of this season. The transfer window will then apply to all clubs.

The Football League is strenuously resisting this change.

Although the financial conditions in our domestic game have changed a little since the windows were first imposed in August 2002, the broad reasons for clubs opposing them remain the same.

One fundamental problem with the restriction imposed by transfer windows is that they impinge on players' freedom of movement.

The financial imperative to make a player sale at a particular time so a club can make ends meet is still relevant but isn't perhaps as strong as it was two years ago in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of ITV Digital. Transfer fees of any substance are rarely paid by or to Football League clubs these days. The market has changed.

But Football League clubs still need the freedom to bring in players or move them on free transfers or on loan at short notice. Many clubs can't afford to keep squads large enough to provide cover in all positions.

The clubs suffering the most with the current transfer restrictions are those that gained promotion from the old first division to the Premiership last season.

They had precious little time after gaining promotion in May to strengthen their squads for the challenge of the Premiership before the window closed in August.

The managers of those clubs have time in the early weeks of the campaign to identify their weaknesses but they won't be able to strengthen their squads by making new signings until January. The three newly-promoted clubs currently make up the bottom three of the Premiership and by January it may be very difficult for them to climb up the table to safety.

If transfer windows are imposed across the board then promoted clubs at every level would be in the same boat next summer and, if our start to the season is anything to go by, that could include Tranmere Rovers.